Chapter 24: Forensic Nursing Copyright © 2012, 2007 Mosby, Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

2 Statistics on Violence  More than 1.6 million people died from violence in 2001  Millions were also injured as a result of violence  Many victims have resultant physical, sexual, reproductive and mental health problems making violence a leading public health issue

3 Copyright © 2012, 2007 Mosby, Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Forensics  Forensic nursing has emerged as a specialty over the past 20 years  It concerns itself with survivors of violent crime or liability-related trauma  Passage of Violence Against Women act, fostered development to address this issue

4 Copyright © 2012, 2007 Mosby, Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Education and Credentialing of the Forensic Nurse Five primary education routes for Forensic Nursing: 1. Continuing education coursework 2. Certificate programs 3. Undergraduate nursing education 4. Graduate Nursing education 5. Postdoctoral education and fellowship

5 Copyright © 2012, 2007 Mosby, Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Fact and Expert Witnesses  Fact witness is a person with knowledge about what happened in a particular case and testifies in the case reporting events and facts.  Fact witness testimony is different from expert witness testimony.  Expert witness is a person who offers an opinion or diagnosis with qualified expertise in the queried subject matter.

6 Copyright © 2012, 2007 Mosby, Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Specialty Areas and Practice  Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs)  Forensic Nurses  Clinical Nurse Specialists  Forensic Psychiatric Nurses  Death Investigators and Nurse Coroners  Forensic Correctional Nurses